KRAKOW

After eight plus hours via train, in the late afternoon, we arrived in Krakow, got settled in our mansion (over statement) hey–we have a sink and a little ice box.

You might be asking yourself, “Why would these crazies choose Krakow to visit?” The answer is simple (not simple). We have made the trek from Monschau, Germany, to Cologne, Germany, to Prague, Czech Republic, to Krakow, Poland for one primary, single-focused reason–Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

In contemplating this decision, we weighed all of the options–time, inconvenience,  costs associated with the possibility.  In the end,  we concluded that this would fall under the “bucket list” and if we did not make this effort, we would indeed have regrets. 

For several years now, I have made the focus of my recreational reading in the World War II era. The more I read, the more I want to know. So this, for me, is putting some of the puzzle pieces together. 

Tomorrow–all day–we will be visiting the two internment camps–buildings and personal artifacts, gas chambers and crematoria structures. We have been told that the tour is deeply troubling, heart-wrenching, and depressing, I would expect as much.

Our intent at some level, is  to bring respect, honor and give dignity to those who suffered barbaric cruelty, unthinkable torture, and inhumane starvation under Hitler’s evil dictatorship. May their sacrifices never, ever be forgotten.